Notes from a heatwave: Mid-summer in the garden

It’s mid-summer in the garden and it is so. so. so. hot right now. The grass is brown. The water butt is empty. The garden is out of action between 8am and 4pm because it gets so much sun, it’s unbearable. Sadly, the only use it’s getting during the day is to dry our laundry (which is handy, as the dryer in our washing machine is broken!).

I might not be very happy in my garden usage right now, but the plants are thrilled. I still give them a good water every couple of days, and they are rewarding me with lots of promising bounty.

The strawberries we couldn’t get enough of last month are no more, but there are raspberries growing and some beautiful looking tomatoes on their way.

Our ants have been busy farming black fly on the leaves of our pumpkin plants, which I try to regularly wash with soapy water. But so far, they’ve left the pumpkin flowers themselves alone, and we now have lots of pumpkin buds starting, so I’m not being too strict with the flies.

Our lettuce has completely gone to seed, but something else has sprouted up. I vaguely remember planting some flowers in this spot, but now I can’t remember what the seeds were for, and of course, I no longer have the packet. Any ideas?

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And that’s how my garden grows right now. A pocket of sunshine, that desperately needs a few days of rain and a good garden umbrella (I have plans to buy this one, along with this table and chair set, soon).

How are you coping in this excruciatingly hot weather? I’m normally a big fan of heat, but seriously: some days I feel like I might self-combust! I’m day-dreaming about wearing a cardigan! What has happened to my brain!?